Monday, April 28, 2014

A state bill that sets social media-monitoring standards for schools is now heading to the full State Assembly for a vote.

Introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake), AB 1442 passed with a 7-0 vote by the Assembly Education Committee. It would require educators monitoring bullying online to inform parents when their child’s Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account is being viewed.The proposed legislation would also require schools to delete any collected photos or other posts to be deleted within a year of a student turning 18.

“Imagine the harm that could be caused if a hacker, mean-spirited employee or even a careless IT worker were to expose a database of all the things a person said or did as a teenager,” Gatto said in a statement.
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Follow Arin Mikailian on Twitter: @ArinMikailian.

You can read this article and more at the Glendale News Press by clicking HERE

Campaign finance reform is so important. This weekend, I participated in a panel at UCLA School of Law sponsored by Common Cause (See photo above), on this topic and my AJR 1, which is discussed in the California Newswire article below:

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — This week, California Assemblyman Mike Gatto’s (D-Los Angeles) AJR 1, a measure to begin the process to amend the United States Constitution to address the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, took a major step forward, passing the California State Assembly by a vote of 51-20. In Citizens United, a deeply divided Supreme Court held that corporations are due the same free-speech rights enjoyed by natural persons.

The decision spawned “Super PACs,” which have flooded unlimited and largely anonymous corporate money into federal elections. According to the Federal Election Commission, Super PAC spending in 2012 federal elections totaled more than $567 million.

“Most Americans are fed up with the notion that money is speech and that moneyed interests can therefore drown out the speech of average citizens,” said Gatto.

Historically, all amendments to the U.S. Constitution have started in Congress, and been ratified later by 3/4 of the states. AJR 1 takes advantage of the rarely-used Article V process for amending the federal Constitution, which allows states to demand that Congress act. If 2/3 of the states make such a demand, Congress must call a constitutional convention on the topic. Several states and municipalities have already passed informal resolutions condemning the Citizens United decision, but Gatto’s AJR 1 is the first to utilize the Article V process which could compel Congress to act.

The state-initiated process in Article V has been tried several times, with limited success. Although the process has never resulted in a constitutional convention, it has spurred Congress to take action several times. According to a 2007 article in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, at least four different amendments to the U.S. Constitution have been proposed by Congress in part because of Article V actions. For example, the amendments that repealed prohibition and allowed for the direct election of Senators were first demanded by state legislatures under Article V.

AJR 1 calls for a convention that would be expressly limited to campaign-finance and corporate-personhood issues. Now that it has passed the State Assembly, the resolution will next go to the California State Senate, after which other states could similarly act, triggering the convention. Its passage is further significant because it is the first time in recent memory that a Democratic-controlled legislature has passed an Article V demand. Several Republican-controlled statehouses have recently passed Article V resolutions for the Balanced Budget Amendment or simply to establish rules for a future Article V convention. Today’s passage of AJR 1 signifies broad, nationwide, bipartisan action, by the legislators closest to the people, to demand action on Congress on big issues.

“I doubt our Founding Fathers had the free-speech rights of multi-national and foreign corporations in mind when they drafted the First Amendment,” said Gatto. “But the Founding Fathers did anticipate that every once in a while, the states would need to prod Congress to act to amend the Constitution. That’s what we are doing.”

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

If legislation introduced Monday by Assemblyman Mike Gatto
(D-Silver Lake) becomes law, college officials across the state would be
required to report certain crimes occurring on or near campuses to law
enforcement to investigate, if the victim does not request anonymity.

AB 1433 comes after several California colleges have been accused of
covering-up on-campus sexual assaults because of concerns that higher crime
statistics would lead prospective students to choose elsewhere, Gatto said.

The unwillingness of campus officials to involve proper non-campus
law-enforcement professionals greatly diminishes the chance that a perpetrator
is arrested and convicted, he added.

“Victims of crime should not see their chances of justice hurt, nor should
perpetrators be allowed to victimize others, because a school values its public
image more than victims' rights,” Gatto said in a statement. “Colleges should
focus on teaching, and leave the investigation of crimes to the professionals --
local police and sheriffs.”

Two southern California colleges are currently the subject of a federal
investigation for their handling of on-campus sexual assaults and other violent
crimes, Gatto said.

“Crimes that occur on campus should not be treated any differently than
those that occur elsewhere in our community,” Gatto said. "California law needs
to make sure that college administrators involve law enforcement when
appropriate."

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This article originally appeared in the GLENDALE NEWS-PRESS. You can read this article and more by
visiting the GLENDALE NEWS-PRESS HERE.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — A key water-conservation bill
introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) passed the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee today by a vote of 13-0. AB 2636 establishes
CalConserve, a revolving-loan program to provide loans to home owners and
businesses to help finance water-efficiency projects. The program will reduce
urban, per-capita water use and help cities and counties reach their water-use
reduction goals.

Conserving water has long been a goal of California policymakers, but with
the state in the midst of a disastrous drought, conserving precious water
resources has never been more important. For the first time in history, water
exports to Central Valley farms and Southern California homes have fallen to
zero. Crops are dying, cities are running out of drinking water, and streams are
running dry. The drought is even forcing children in the Central Valley to leave
school, as their parents are forced to abandon drought-scorched crops in search
of work elsewhere.

“The technology already exists to save millions of gallons of water, but the
infrastructure of our homes and businesses needs to be updated,” said Gatto.
“This legislation would provide funds for homeowners and businesses to make
water-saving infrastructure upgrades.”

Gatto’s bill authorizes the Department of Water Resources to administer a
state revolving-fund program that will be a self-renewing source of funding for
water-use efficiency. By helping private entities pay the upfront infrastructure
costs of installing water-efficiency technology, CalConserve will allow more
homeowners and business to save water. As they begin seeing savings on their
water bill, these private entities will pay the infrastructure loan back to
CalConserve.

“California can save water without asking taxpayers to spend a single dime,”
noted Gatto. “Instead of giving away limited state resources in grants to pay
for retrofits, we can help people pay the upfront costs and let them pay us back
slowly from their water-bill savings.”

AB 2636 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

# # #

This article originally appeared in CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE. You can read this article and more by
visiting CALIFORNIA NEWSWIRE HERE.

The proposal, which aims to stem so-called runaway film and TV production,
would renew and boost a state tax credit to better compete with subsidies and
studios elsewhere.

SACRAMENTO — Proposed legislation aimed at providing more tax credits to
attract so-called runaway movie and television productions back to the
industry's birthplace in California won initial approval from a legislative
committee Tuesday.
The proposal would renew and increase a state tax credit — amounting to as
much as $400 million a year — to better compete with generous tax subsidies
available in more than 40 states, including New York, Louisiana, New York and
Michigan, as well as studios in Canada and Britain.

The tax credit would allow most film and TV production companies to reduce
their tax liability by 20% of the cost of many production expenditures.

The movie industry, supporters said, is too important to California's
economy, history and image to be allowed to slip away. "This is our industry to
keep or lose," said Assemblyman Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica). "We need to send
a message to New York, England and other states competing for our jobs and say,
'It stops here.'"

The bill, AB 1839 by Assemblymen Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) and Raul
Bocanegra (D-Pacoima), passed Tuesday on a 7-0 bipartisan vote by the Assembly
Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee. Gatto said he
expects an easy transit through the Assembly but conceded that the bill might
face more skepticism in the Senate and governor's office. Gov. Jerry Brown has
not taken a public position.

Representatives from movie-related trade unions, studios, caterers and other
service providers, film commissions and local governments, including the city
and county of Los Angeles, filled the ornate Capitol hearing room with
spontaneous applause. The measure now moves to the Assembly Revenue and Taxation
Committee.

About 70 lawmakers have signed on as coauthors of the bill, which has solid
support across party lines and in all regions of the state. The only public
opposition came from the California Teachers Assn. and the California School
Employees Assn. The two groups said they opposed giving special tax breaks to a
particular industry. The money, they suggested, would be better spent on K-12
education.

The Gatto-Bocanegra bill, if passed, would replace a 2009 law that has
provided $100 million a year in credits. To date, it has funded about 270
projects, generated $4.75 billion in economic activity and created 51,000 mainly
high-paying jobs, many for skilled workers such as electricians, carpenters,
animators and cinematographers, the legislators said.

The proposed legislation would extend the program until 2022. It would
broaden eligibility to include big movie productions, all television series and
provide a special incentive for shooting outside the traditional Los
Angeles-centered area.

According to Gatto's office, film production in California has declined by
half in the last 15 years. Just last year, 21 of 23 prime-time television series
were filmed outside California, transferring jobs to other states and forcing
many longtime California residents to move away, Gatto's office said.
"I don't want to move, but there's tons of work in Atlanta," said Ed
Gutentag, a Topanga cameraman who says he's moving to Georgia in a few
weeks.

# # #

This article originally appeared in LOS ANGELES TIMES by Marc Lifsher. You can read this article and more by
visiting LOS ANGELES TIMES HERE.

BURBANK–Well over 250 excited and eager attendees packed the Fletcher Jones
Foundation Auditorium at Woodbury University early on Saturday morning to
participate in “Elevate 2014” Leadership Conference Seminar. Hosted by the
Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter and the Woodbury University Center for
Leadership, this one of a kind event was originally conceived in 2012 through a
partnership of the aforementioned entities and sought to unite and engage
concerned community leaders who recognized its tremendous and immediate need and
was established in response to growing community calls for a vehicle to exist
which develops and instills, within its youth, the leadership skills that
elevate and empower them to become productive citizens and influential members
of society.

“We are beyond pleased with this event. It was so uplifting to see so many
young people here so early on a Saturday morning to attend a leadership
seminar,” remarked Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter Chairman Tomik
Abrahamian. “When you put so much time, energy and effort into an event of this
kind and it yields the positive response and interest it does, you cannot help
but be proud, reinvigorated and encouraged. We thank all of our speakers,
sponsors, participants, attendees and Dr. Calingo and his staff at Woodbury
University for their cooperation and support in this effort and hope to build on
our unique partnership with Woodbury University on future events and
projects.”

This capacity room event featured a unique list of accomplished and renowned
speakers which included: Katherine Sarafian, Academy Award winning producer at
Pixar Animation Studios; Luis Ma. R. Calingo, Ph.D., President of Woodbury
University; Mikayel Israyelyan, entrepreneur and CEO of Muse Lifestyle Group;
Scott Ochoa, City Manager for City of Glendale; Arby Nahapetian M.D., VP of
Medical Affairs and Quality at Glendale Adventist Medical Center; and longtime
community leader and philanthropist and founder and President of Massis Kabob,
Hacop Baghdassarian, who was honored with the “2014 Elevate Leadership Award.”
Also attending were California State Assembly member Mike Gatto, Mayor of the
City of Burbank Emily Gabel-Luddy, City of Burbank Councilmember Jess
Talamantes, Glendale City Clerk Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian, and Glendale
Community College Member of Board of Trustees Dr. Armine Hacopian.

Certificates of Recognition were provided to the participants and honorees by
the offices of Congressman Adam B. Schiff, Calif. State Assembly Speaker John A.
Pérez, Calif. State Assembly Members Adrin Nazarian and Mike Gatto, Calif. State
Controller John Chiang, LA County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, Calif. State
Senator Carol Liu, City of Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and Los Angeles
Councilmembers Paul Krekorian and Felipe Fuentes.

“I was very impressed with the large turnout and assemblage and quality of
speakers who participated in today’s seminar. There was something special for
everyone that came here today to learn to lead and grow effectively,” stated Dr.
Luis Ma. R. Calingo, President of Woodbury University. “The various fields and
disciplines represented here was extraordinarily unique and we are extremely
proud to host this event, for the second time now and look forward to partnering
with the Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter on the next ‘Elevate’ Seminar and
other similar events.”

After the event, attendees were treated to a special luncheon hosted by the
University at its Alumni Quad, during which they had further opportunities to
meet and mingle with the speakers and one another. Through an extra special
arrangement, UFC and MMA superstars Edmond Tarverdyan (UFC Bantamweight Champ
Ronda Rousey’s trainer), Jessamyn “The Gun” Duke, Shayna “The Queen of Spades”
Baszler, and Marina Shafir were on hand to sign autographs and participate in
photo opportunities with attendees.

The “Elevate 2014” Leadership Development Conference Seminar Series of the
Homenetmen Glendale “Ararat” Chapter and the Woodbury University is the largest
and only Armenian-American Leadership Incubator of its kind and draws and
directs the wisdom and experience of the nation’s top Armenian-American
corporate and business leaders, public figures and accomplished and recognized
leaders from the fields of the arts and sciences, entertainment, athletics and
civic and community leaders and academics and identifies and instills within
today’s Armenian-American youth the leadership skills and organizational tools
required to prepare them to become tomorrow’s influential citizens and community
leaders. This Leadership Development Incubator focuses on character shaping and
leadership development.

# # #

This article originally appeared in ASBAREZ. You can read this article and more by
visiting ASBAREZ HERE.